Workplace Knowledge Domain

Key positions abroad are filled mainly with parent-country nationals, and headquarters practices are exported. It maximizes control but can limit local talent development and cultural fit.

Each subsidiary is managed largely by host-country nationals with locally adapted practices, while headquarters roles stay with parent-country staff. It improves local responsiveness but can silo the subsidiaries.

Regiocentric moves and selects managers within a region (e.g., across the EU); geocentric selects the best person for any role regardless of nationality, worldwide.

An employee who is a citizen of neither the parent-company country nor the host country, e.g., a French citizen employed by a U.S. firm in Brazil.

An employee from a foreign subsidiary transferred into the headquarters country, often for development or to bring local knowledge to HQ.

To keep the expatriate's purchasing power equal to home-country levels by adjusting for differences in goods and services, housing, and taxes, so the move is neither a gain nor a loss.